–after given 14 days to live

FORTY years ago, the Angel of Life was in the corner of Sharon Edwards, 59, who was diagnosed with Stage Four colon cancer at Kings County Hospital in New York, United States of America, and was given 14 days to live.
Not wanting to go down without a fight, Edwards opted for round-the-clock radiation and chemotherapy treatment for 35 days and, miraculously, she managed to overpower death.
It was during September 2014, after completing her lunch, Edwards experienced a sharp pain in her abdomen. She had assumed it was flatus (gas). But the pain persisted, causing her to seek advice from a medical doctor assigned at the Georgetown Prison, where she was employed.

Medications were prescribed but the condition worsened, and as a result, a referral was given for her to undergo an ultrasound examination at a private health institution.
“They diagnosed the condition as ‘gall stones’. March 2015, I underwent a surgery to remove some stones. About two weeks later, the pain was gone, but on the third week, the pain became unbearable. I returned to the doctor. He said it was the healing process. The pain continued for months. I could not eat. I lost weight rapidly. Prior to the illness, I had planned to travel to New York in October that year but I cancelled it. I had applied for my annual leave and was in my third week when I decided to tell my fellow colleague and friend that I was not going to travel with her. But she could not accept it and, instead, bought my airline ticket and together we travelled to United States on October 27, 2015,” Edwards recalled.

Edwards had planned on spending just two weeks in the foreign land as her leave would have concluded and shortly thereafter she would have been going into retirement.
PAIN WORSENED

“But three days after arriving in New York, the pain started. It got worse. My friend took me to Kings County Hospital where, after an examination, the doctors observed inflammation and an abscess on the colon, which they suspected was cancer. A colon colostomy was recommended. Colostomy is a surgical procedure in which a piece of the colon is diverted to an artificial opening in the abdominal wall to bypass a damaged part of the colon.

“I was told that the condition was a serious one which allows me to live for 14 days. I was scheduled to return to Guyana on December 24. I remained hospitalised. A surgical procedure was imposed, which allowed me to travel to Guyana and be back in New York in two weeks. By January 26, 2016, I returned to New York and I did my first major surgery in February. By then, the cancer had spread to the bladder and kidneys. I was sutured up after that discovery.

I was told that the organs could not be removed. Though warned about the likely outcome of death after being exposed to rapid radiations and chemotherapy treatment, I opted to take it — round-the-clock treatment—24 hours a day for 35 days. The doctors told me there will be a lifestyle change; as I have to have two colostomy bags for body waste… at one stage, I was so weak my friends and family were planning to bury me.

But I fought the battle mentally. I was not willing to give up hope,” she said.
Sharon recounted that it was on September 12, 2016 that she was being prepared to do an eight-hour major surgery when the doctors explained the procedures and the life-style changes that would occur.
MARVELOUS
“But as I was ushered into the theatre, in my mind, I was declaring a miracle. I was given the anesthetic for a lengthy surgery, but what the doctors had noticed earlier for the scans was not there when they entered by abdominal cavity. The cancer had been reduced to a little ball, which they just scooped out. In less than two hours, the surgery was completed. But because of the amount of anesthetic in my body, I was placed in the ICU where I was monitored. When I was revived, the doctors said, ‘Ms. Edwards, this is marvelous.’ We cannot understand what happen,” she told the Guyana Chronicle.

Shortly afterwards, Edwards suffered a relapse and had to be re-admitted to the ICU.
“I had to be isolated as my systems were shutting down. But I purposed in my heart to survive. Its four years now. I have had my last check up three weeks ago. The doctor report revealed that all is well,” the survivor said.

Today, she has some useful advice for persons battling with cancer: “You can survive it. You can overcome anything. I know the pain is not easy. I have had sleepless nights but remain positive. Surround yourself with positive people and most importantly, embrace the support of friends and family.”
The New Amsterdam-born Edwards is thankful to her sisters, colleagues from the Guyana Prison Service and her friends in the diaspora who went above and beyond to ensure she walks on the road to recovery.